VISTA LIGHTS 2012

Wanda Steppe

“Sticks and Stones”

This collection will be featured during Vista Lights on November 15, 2012 from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. A Preview Reception honoring the Artist will be held on Wednesday November 14, 2012 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. This exhibition will run through December 23, 2012.

Steppe says, “I have amassed a considerable collection of objects that hold personal meaning for me, everything from birds' nests and eggs to dead flowers and insects. They have one thing in common; all are a testament to what once was– elegant, haunting reminders of life at its fullest and the ravages of time”. Wanda believes that, “painting has become not just a pursuit but a way of life”.

Steppe has studied at Harris College, University of South Carolina Lancaster, Greenville County Museum School of Art, and Winthrop University. Steppe’s art can be viewed in galleries throughout much of South Carolina and parts of Tennessee. Steppe has received numerous awards due to her remarkable creativity and skill always foremost in the art work. In, 2001 Steppe received first place at the Oil Painter’s Open Invitational at the Sumter Gallery of Art in Sumter, SC. She also has been featured on four separate occasions at the Studio Artists’ Exhibition at the Dalton Gallery in Rock Hill, SC.

Steppe’s work is featured in many public collections; including the public collections such as Bank of America and the Capital Broadcasting Corporation, Steppe has also been published many times for her art exhibitions including The News & Observer and Carolina Arts magazine.

Gallery Director Wendyth Wells planned this Exhibition over a year ago working closely with Steppe to showcase the talent, life experience and spirit depicted in the paintings. “It is a delight to be able to bring together a collection of paintings so worthy of exhibition and audience engagement. It is my desire for every person to have a Steppe in their own personal collection. The Exhibit will tantalize the senses while evoking life’s emotional journeys”.

PHOTO GALLERY

JASPER 2012 ARTIST OF THE YEAR

The winners of Jasper 2012 Artist of the Year in Dance, Literary Arts, Music, Theatre, and Visual Arts will be announced at 7 pm November 15, 2012 at the release of Jasper Magazine V. 002, N. 002 at City Art during Vista Lights. All 15 artists will be featured in the same issue of Jasper Magazine.

Dance: Brooklyn Mack, Regina Willoughby, and Marcy Jo Yonkey-Clayton

Literary Arts: Kwame Dawes, Julia Elliott, and Dianne Johnson

Music: Aaron Graves, Morihiko Nakahara, and Josh Roberts

Theatre: Chad Henderson, Vicky Saye Henderson, and Shelby Sessler

Visual Arts: Thomas Crouch, Lyon Hill, and Susan Lenz

Jasper will also have a group of young musical theatre artists who will be performing.

Sara Cogswell

Hand made jewelry by Sara Cogswell will be featured in the gallery the night of Vista Lights November 15, 2012 from 5 - 9 pm be sure to stop by!

Sara Cogswell is a resident of Columbia, SC having moved in October of 2011 from Dayton, OH. Her thirty-year career in arts administration has included time as Program Associate at the Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art in New York, Director of the Crafts Festivals at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Museum Administrator for the Weatherspoon Art Museum at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and Gallery Director of Gallery 115, also in Greensboro. For two years, Sara curated the material culture exhibitions for the nationally known Cityfolk Festival held annually in Dayton, Ohio over the July 4th weekend.

Sara’s love of fiber began as early as she can remember. Growing up in Japan as the daughter of missionaries, she was surrounded by the rich textiles unique to that culture. After taking a weaving class in college, she was enduringly hooked. She wove for many years, but following the birth of her first child found it difficult to keep an eight-harness floor loom out of the reach of a toddler. Inspired by the work of two artists from Berea Kentucky, Sara began to work with fiber on a much smaller scale.

Her current work is made up of hundreds of silk, nylon, cotton, or linen threads, knotted into wearable art. The earrings, which sometimes incorporate beads, or at times just combinations of color, begin with these hundreds of threads, not always with a specific end in mind, but evolving as the piece progresses. Though labor intensive, the repetition and rhythm of tying the knots is a very meditative process.

Cindy Saad

A collection of handmade jewelry by Cindy Saad will also be featured during the Vista Lights celebration in the main gallery at City Art in the Congaree Vista Thursday November 15 between 5:00 and 9:00 p.m.

Artist Statement

Primarily a self-taught artist, I began painting in the mid-eighties and have been creating jewelry for the past 14 years. My artistic endeavors continue to evolve as I enjoy the freedom of creating art in various mediums. Whether sculpting a necklace or painting on canvas, I like to work spontaneously, creating pieces that evoke the senses. Color and movement are my guiding forces.
With my sterling sculpture jewelry, it is the visual excitement of the gemstone that draws me in initially because of its color, size, shape and texture. I have found that there is a rhythm to my method of wire sculpting as I wrap the wire around each stone and intuitively work with it to make it the focus of the design. With beading, it is the freedom to combine various colors and shapes that motivate each piece similar to painting.